WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Harsha Vijay*

ABSTRACT

Background of The Study: Cancer, the scarier diagnosis in most people's minds is often thought of as an untreatable, unbearably painful disease with no cure. Cancer is undoubtedly a serious and potentially life-threatening illness. Cancer grows out of normal cells in the body. Complementary medicine is the term used to describe additional forms of treatment that may be given along with chemotherapy. In the past, complementary medicine has claimed various types of “miracle" cures for cancer. Aromatherapy is a form of complementary therapy that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function, or health. Objectives: assess the level of pain and depression among patients receiving chemotherapy. evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy on pain and depression among patients receiving chemotherapy and find the association between the findings and selected demographic variables. Methodology: To evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy on pain and depression among patients receiving chemotherapy a Quasi-experimental pre-test post-test research design was selected with Quantitative research approach. Nonprobability purposive Sampling was used. 60 Sample Size was taken. On day one, 30 samples were selected for the experimental group by purposive sampling technique. Each of the 30 samples were divided in to 3 groups, containing 10 samples each. Aromatherapy was started for each experimental group with 20 ml of almond oil mixed with 10 drops of lavender oil and 2 drops of geranium oil for 6 days. The oil was applied to the face, hands, chest, and scalp. On day seven, the post test was assessed. Likewise, each group was given aromatherapy. After completing the experimental group, 30 samples were selected for the control group. On day one, pre-test score was assessed. On day seven, the post test score was assessed. Results: The findings show a statistically difference in post-test pain and depression score on patients receiving chemotherapy after aromatherapy. Conclusion: Present study suggests that aromatherapy was effective in reducing level of pain and depression among patients receiving chemotherapy. The study also facilitated the researcher to recognize the role of aromatherapy in reducing pain and depression among patients receiving chemotherapy, which can be included into holistic nursing care.

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